A Sydney company director has been fined $16,900 for underpaying eight of his former staff. The employees, who received no money at all for weeks on end, were underpaid a total of more than $31,000.

NSW Chief Industrial Magistrate Greg Hart imposed the penalty against Ryan Marsh of Botany, following a prosecution by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The Court ordered that the money be reimbursed to eight workers who were underpaid by Marsh's company, Asteria Joinery Pty Ltd.

Handing down his decision, Chief Industrial Magistrate Hart said that when Asteria fell behind in payments to its employees, Marsh had "cajoled them into continuing to work by making promises to the effect that they would get their money 'next week' - but that over time, it was found that his promises in that regard were empty and the employees in question worked for some weeks without any payment whatsoever".

Mr Hart said that when the employees resigned they were not paid out annual leave entitlements and annual leave loading.

"Upon investigation, it was found that even during the period that the employees were being paid, they were not receiving their entitlements to overtime, and in some cases, other allowances," he said.

The court ordered that Mr Marsh, from Botany, give the money he failed to pay the eight workers between November 2008 and January 2009.

But the Fair Work Ombudsman, in a statement on Monday, said Asteria Joinery had since gone into liquidation and "the order was unlikely to be met."