"That's fine by me because when she is at work she is phenomenal," says Shujab.

Another employee broke his knee in a motorbike accident and has taken two weeks off.

"If you show that loyalty and empathy towards your staff you get that back in loyalty and high performance and a collaborative approach," says Shujab.

Shujab's unique approach comes as new research illustrates the challenges that staff absences provide small businesses.

A survey of 2085 Australians by comparison site finder.com.au conducted in March found 40 per cent of workers, the equivalent of five million Australians, have had to take over four weeks off work (that wasn't annual leave) at one stage during their career for a range of reasons.

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The survey found the biggest reason for an extended absence was due to a serious illness or injury, with mental and physical ailments affecting 14 per cent of those surveyed, equating to 1.7 million Australians.

Having a baby was also a big reason for extended leave, with this affecting 12 per cent of workers.  Female workers are far more likely to take time off due to a new baby than males, with 22 per cent of women taking leave compared to only 2 per cent of men.

Of those surveyed 3 per cent have taken a lengthy period of time off to care for a relative.

Redundancy has affected one in twenty with 6 per cent of those surveyed taking an extended period of leave for redundancy.

Redundancy has had the greater impact on males, with 9 per cent taking a month off, compared to only 4 per cent of women.

The survey found Baby Boomers are the most likely generation to have been made redundant with 11 per cent experiencing time off as a result of redundancy compared to 6 per cent of Generation X and 4 per cent of Generation Y workers.

Serious injuries and illnesses have affected Baby Boomers and Generation X equally as much, with 15 per cent each.

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