Many people are so pleased to find a job that they fail to properly analyse the terms and conditions of employment. They may go happily though their working life for twenty years or so, only to find that there is a problem, something which they should have noticed in their contract; something which could end up with them having to consult employment law solicitors.

However, at that late stage it is often impossible to rectify and they end up wishing that they had been more diligent when they joined the company.

One example in case is the notice period. Different companies offer different notice periods – and this often even differs according to seniority. If you are planning to leave your company check how long your notice period is before you accept another job. You may have wrongly assumed that you had to give them one month's notice when it is in fact three or more. An employer is unlikely to be understanding in this situation…

Another time this could be crucial is redundancy, which unfortunately many people are going through in the current economic climate. Some employees have more generous terms laid out in their contact than the standard government redundancy rate and you should always check anything related to this issue.

There are numerous things you should beware of such as email policy, dress code etc., so make sure you read your contract in full so you are covered.