The Council of Trade Unions says the success of the Government's nine day fortnight scheme will depend on how much employers are prepared to contribute.
Employees who opt to work one day less a fortnight will receive $62 from the Government and a promise that they cannot be made redundant.
The $20 million scheme applies only to companies that employ more than 100 people.
CTU secretary Peter Conway says ITS success depends on whether employers top up the Government's contribution to make it an attractive alternative to redundancy.
Mr Conway says keeping people in jobs is better in the long term and avoids the social and economic costs of redundancies on families.
The nine day fortnight originated at a job summit on 27 February.
