Whistleblowing Policy

Yield Climate Limited, trading as Retrofit Score · Company number 11435108
Suite 10, Padiham Business Centre, 57-65 Burnley Road, Padiham, Burnley, Lancashire, BB12 8BU

Version 2.0  ·  Approved by Jonathan Whittaker, Director  ·  1 October 2026  ·  Next review October 2027

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Yield Climate Ltd is committed to conducting our business with honesty and integrity, and we expect all staff to maintain high standards 
following our policies and procedures. However, we recognise that there is a risk of things going wrong from time to time, or of 
unknowingly harbouring illegal or unethical conduct. A culture of openness and accountability is essential to prevent such situations 
occurring, or to address them when they do occur.

The aims of this policy are to:
encourage staff to report suspected wrongdoing as soon as possible, in the knowledge that their concerns will be taken seriously, 
investigated as appropriate, and that their confidentiality will be respected
provide staff with guidance as to how to raise those concerns
reassure staff that they should be able to raise genuine concerns without fear of reprisals, even if they turn out to be mistaken
This policy applies to everyone who carries out work for the firm in the UK, including partners, employees, contractors and sub-contractors, 
agency staff, consultants, and work experience or other trainees.

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What is whistleblowing?
Whistleblowing is the disclosure of information which relates to suspected wrongdoing, generally a breach of a legal, statutory or 
regulatory requirement, or unethical or immoral behaviour. This may include:
violation of a legal requirement, for example health and safety obligations owed by the firm or an individual
general malpractice, such as immoral, illegal or unethical conduct
gross misconduct
potential breach of the requirements in, or made under, the Pensions Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, or the Bribery Act 2010
If you have any genuine concerns related to any of the above, you should report it under this policy.

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Protected disclosures
An individual making a protected disclosure is given statutory protection from victimisation under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998, 
provided the disclosure is in the public interest.
A protected disclosure is any disclosure of information which, in the reasonable belief of the individual making the disclosure, tends to
show that one or more of the following has been committed, is being committed, or is likely to be committed. The disclosure must be made 
following certain conditions; these conditions are less demanding if the disclosure is made internally.

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• a criminal offence

• a failure to comply with any legal obligation

• a miscarriage of justice

• the putting of someone’s health or safety in danger

• damage to the environment

• deliberate concealment of information relating to any of the above

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It is immaterial whether the information is confidential, whether the incident occurred, occurs or would occur in the UK or elsewhere, and 
whether the law applying to it is that of the UK or any other country or territory. A legal obligation can include a contractual or other civil 
obligation as well as an obligation under criminal law.
Specific instances of wrongdoing as described above under What is whistleblowing — for example breaches of codes of conduct of 
professional institutions — do not constitute a protected disclosure. You should seek advice if unsure on this point.

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Raising a whistleblowing concern
All whistleblowing disclosures will be treated as confidential and will be reported accordingly.
Please contact the company Director, Jonathan Whittaker, directly in person or by email for any issue to be reported.
You should make it clear that you are making your disclosure within the terms of our whistleblowing policy. This will ensure that we take 
the necessary action to investigate the disclosure and to protect the whistleblower’s identity.

We will aim to keep you informed of the progress of the investigation and its likely timescale. However, sometimes the need for 
confidentiality may prevent us from giving you specific details of the investigation or of any disciplinary action taken as a result.
You should treat any information about the investigation as confidential. While we cannot always guarantee the outcome you are seeking, 
we will try to deal with your concern fairly and in an appropriate way. By using this policy, you can help us to achieve this.

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Confidentiality
We hope that staff will feel able to voice concerns openly under this policy. However, if you want to raise your concern confidentially, we 
will make every effort to keep your identity secret. If it is necessary for anyone investigating your concern to know your identity, we will 
discuss this with you.
We do not encourage staff to raise concerns anonymously. Proper investigation may be more difficult or impossible if we cannot obtain 
further information from you. It is also more challenging to establish whether any allegations are credible. If you are concerned about 
possible reprisals if your identity is revealed, you should come forward to the Company Director and appropriate measures can be taken to 
preserve confidentiality. Anonymous concerns will nevertheless be taken seriously and investigated as thoroughly as possible. Yield 
Climate Ltd is not accountable for maintaining anonymity where you have told others of the alleged issue.

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Protection and support for whistleblowers
Understandably, whistleblowers are sometimes worried about possible repercussions. Yield Climate Ltd aims to encourage openness and 
will support staff members who raise genuine concerns under this policy, even if they turn out to be mistaken.

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External disclosures
This policy aims to provide an internal mechanism for reporting, investigating and remedying any wrongdoing in the workplace. In most 
cases you should not find it necessary to alert anyone externally. In some circumstances it may be appropriate for you to report your 
concerns to an external body such as a regulator, for example the Health and Safety Executive. It will rarely if ever be necessary to alert 
the media. We strongly encourage you to seek advice before reporting a concern to anyone external, excluding the unions or any 
independent whistleblowing charity.
The independent whistleblowing charity Protect operates a confidential helpline. They also have a list of prescribed regulators for reporting 
certain types of concern.

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Independent advice
Individuals can contact the independent charity Protect for free, independent and confidential advice — for example, to find out what is 
protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and how best to raise concerns. The charity runs a UK helpline on 020 3117 2520 and 
a Scottish helpline on 0141 550 7572.

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Next review October 2027