A small firm is tackling stress in staff by offering them five 'time out' days a year.

River Canal Rescue, Britain's only national inland waterways breakdown and recovery company, took action to prevent pressure building up among its engineers. The firm allows staff to take up to five days off annually, with just 24 hours notice.

Stress among workers - and the drop in productivity associated with it - is considered a major problem in Britain's smaller firms. But experts reckon few bosses know how to deal with it. Health insurer Axa PPP says just one in five small companies carries out regular stress risk assessments and more than a third have no strategy for dealing with stress among staff.