temporary or interim work, become self-employed, do volunteer work, train for a new career or think about a non-executive director role. Here's how. Know where you stand Pay very close attention to your company's accounts, even if you're in a role where you are not usually exposed to the figures. Look out for quarterly statements or trading updates and you will get an idea of how your company is doing. This can help redundancy being less of a shock if it does happen. Nick Dunnett, director at recruitment company Robert Walters , advises employees to use their relationships at work to try to "separate rumour from reality", as rumoured redundancies often fail to materialise -- and vice versa. Arm yourself by checking your employer's redundancy policy by looking at your contract, company policies on your intranet, asking a union representative, or checking with HR. Corinne Mills, managing director of Personal Career Management , says employees should find out if there is a collective redundancy policy or if they will be able to negotiate an individual pay-out -- more likely if they are one of the early ones. You should also double-check that any company information is current, as the good package your employer offered six months ago may have been removed from the table, with the statutory minimum the only option left. Check with Acas or Directgov for what the statutory minimum is. "It is also worth checking if you have insurance on your mortgage that covers redundancy -- people