Standards for the
Protection of Minors

Applicable at the Copernicus Toruń Hotel in Torun.

I. The company under the name of L&P spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością with its registered office in Bydgoszcz – as the owner of the Copernicus Toruń Hotel in Toruń (hereinafter referred to as: ‘the CTH’) – establishes for itself a model of conduct set out in these Standards for the Protection of Minors (hereinafter: ‘STANDARDS’) in order to prevent harm to a child during their stay at THE CTH.

The aim of the CTH is to shape the protection of children in particular by:

1. sensitising hotel staff to possible events that may result in harm to a child, in particular to circumstances potentially indicating that a child staying at the CTH may be harmed,
2. adopting such schemes of conduct to effectively identify the child and their relationship with the adult with whom they came to the CTH. with whom they stay at the CTH,
3. taking seriously the legal and social obligation to notify the competent authorities in every case of suspicion of a crime against children.

II. According to what principles does the CTH ensure safe relations between staff and minors? What are examples of prohibited behaviours towards minors?

1. The CTH staff who have direct contact with children staying at the CTH are required to ensure the safety of children, which means, among other things, that the employment history of such a CTH staff member must indicate that such a person has not harmed any child in the past.
2. Each CTH staff member assigned to work related to education, recreation and childcare, including persons employed on the basis of an employment contract, civil law contract, apprentice, trainee or volunteer, regardless of the citizenship and age of such person, is checked in the Register of Sexual Offenders (https://rps.ms.gov.pl/). Before signing the contract, the HR department verifies each such candidate for the CTH staff in the above scope, including their personal data in the register. A printout is placed in the personnel files. Re-verification takes place every year. Annex No. 1 specifies the personal data that are necessary to verify a person in the above-mentioned register.
3. Each member of staff employed at the CTH to work with children should submit a declaration of no criminal record and that there are no ongoing proceedings for an act against children. Annex No. 2 specifies the content of this declaration.
4. In the event that the CTH uses the services of external entities, the relevant agreement should stipulate the obligation of such external contractor to obtain consents from the staff of such contractor so that the CTH can effectively verify the employees of this contractor in terms of their safety for children. The contractual provision containing such an obligation must provide for the possibility of checking the fulfilment of this obligation, e.g. stipulating the obligation to pay a contractual penalty or terminate the contract with immediate effect. Each member of staff of such external contractor who works with children is obliged to present a printout from the Register of Sexual Offenders.

III. What are the rules for identifying a child staying at the CTH and the relationship of this child to the adult with whom the child is staying?

1. When the booking indicates that a child will arrive at the CTH, the receptionist registers all persons who are to stay in the room with the child, which is done by filling in individual registration cards. The person who claims to be the child's guardian is required to complete the child's data and the degree of relationship on the registration card.
2. When the booking indicates that the child's guardian is not the legal guardian, the receptionist will not register these persons unless they receive an appropriate explanation of the degree of relationship or consent for the child's stay from the legal guardian. In such a situation, the receptionist informs their direct superior. In addition - in order to document the above explanation - the CTH reserves the right to check the relationship of the person wishing to register with the minor, including by presenting a document confirming their identity. For information purposes, it is indicated that grandparents – if the child's parents have parental rights – are not legal guardians (within the meaning of the Family and Guardianship Code) and such grandparents must have the appropriate parental consent, unless the determination of kinship and the child's behaviour raises no doubts.
3. The verification described in this point does not exclude granting a stay at the CTH to a guardian with a child, and any doubts will be resolved in favour of ensuring the safety of the minor.

IV. What are the rules in the event of a suspicion that the well-being of a child staying at the CTH is at risk?

1. Each CTH staff member, having a reasonable suspicion that a child staying at the CTH is or may be being harmed, informs the immediate superior; the latter – depending on the situation – decides how to react, in particular whether to intervene personally or contact the Police or another institution.
2. What events or situations may justify the suspicion of child abuse:
   a) the child revealed or otherwise made it clear to the staff that they are being harmed,
   b) a staff member observed the abuse or noticed that the child bore traces of abuse and the child is unable or willing to explain it rationally,
   c) disturbing sounds of abuse/possible harm or exploitation of the child are coming from the hotel room, d) a staff member notices, either visually or through monitoring, disturbing behaviour of an adult towards the child.
3. In the event of a clearly conflictual situation between an adult suspected of possibly harming a child or of unclear relations with a child, the following should be sought first and foremost:
   a) ensuring one's own safety,
   b) ensuring the safety of the child,
   c) informing the appropriate institutions, in particular the Police,
   d) attempting to calm the atmosphere and attempting to conduct a calm conversation.

V. What are the rules regarding violence against disabled children or children with special educational needs?

1. The CTH staff are aware of how to act towards a disabled child whose behaviour may indicate that they are experiencing violence from their parent/guardian; this awareness is accompanied by the understanding that recognising the symptoms of abuse of disabled minors is an extremely difficult task. In typical situations, the CTH staff do not have knowledge of: the type of the child's disability, the behavioural pattern characteristic of a person with a given disability and the specifics of their individual relationship with their parent/guardian.
2. The CTH staff is sensitive to the following elements of behaviour:
   a) as indicated in point IV.2 of the STANDARDS,
   b) visible fear during contacts between the child and the parent/guardian or another adult,
   c) somatic complaints (abdominal pain, headaches, vomiting, nausea, etc.),
   d) obvious isolation from parents/guardians,
   e) frequent behaviours bearing signs of psychological violence (humiliation, insulting the child by the parent/guardian),
   f) exceeding acceptable limits by the parent/guardian in physical contact with the child, g) disturbed contact of the parent/guardian with reality, e.g. reacts inadequately to the situation, speaks incoherently and other disturbing, unusual behaviours.
3. If, while performing their duties, a member of the CTH staff observes any of the above-mentioned behaviours or other behaviours that worry them immediately, they will pass on these observations to their immediate superior.

VI. According to what procedures and who is responsible for submitting notifications of suspicion of committing a crime to the detriment of a minor and notifying the relevant authorities, including the guardianship court?

1. In each case where a suspicion of committing a crime arises or when a crime has been committed, the CTH General Director submits appropriate notifications and cooperates with law enforcement agencies.
2. In the event of events that are not strictly regulated by the STANDARDS, the CTH staff is guided primarily by their own safety, the well-being of the child and other good practices.

VII. Who is responsible at the CTH for preparing the CTH staff to apply the STANDARDS and what are the principles of implementing the STANDARDS.

1. The person responsible for implementing and complying with the STANDARDS at THE CTH is the CTH General Director.
2. The CTH staff members confirm in writing that they have read the STANDARDS and are committed to complying with them.
3. The CTH staff members who supervise subcontractors and their staff members provide information on the STANDARDS in force at the CTH.
4. The evaluation of STANDARDS, including the need for their changes, will be carried out at least once every two years by the General Director of THE CTH. Each such evaluation will be documented in a report with post-control conclusions.
5. The applicable STANDARDS are located in the public areas of the CTH and in the information resources of hotel rooms.