A former Christchurch mayoral candidate's company has been ordered to pay more than $22,000 for underpaying staff.

G.L. Freeman Holdings Ltd, which until recently owned the Redwood Hotel and Sequoia 88 restaurant in Christchurch, must pay more than $7000 in outstanding wages, holiday and sick pay to four former employees, plus a $15,000 penalty.

The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) found G.L. Freeman Holdings Ltd failed to pay receptionists Barbara Morriss✓ and Brigette Greene✓ for reinstated annual leave when they resigned.

The ERA decision records that the company's sole director and shareholder is Gordon Freeman. Freeman is a former city councillor who unsuccessfully stood for the Christchurch mayoralty in 1998 and 2001.

The ERA decision said the workers had earlier queried their leave situation after learning they had been regularly rostered on annual leave one day a week without their knowledge or consent. Their entitlements were reinstated but not paid out when they resigned.

"[The company] was well aware that it should pay them for the reinstated annual leave and did not do so purely because it considered it unfair, despite it being [the employees'] entitlement," the decision said.

Two other employees – Angelique Singh and Jin Sun, both waitresses – were awarded payments after the company did not pay them for a mixture of alternative holidays, sick pay and regular work pay.

ERA member Christine Hickey said the lack of payment had had a "significant" effect on the workers.

"They were in modestly paid roles and are not of significant financial means. They have been deprived of money that is rightfully theirs."

Hickey labelled the employment breaches "moderately serious" and ordered the company to pay a $15,000 penalty "by way of specific deterrence for [G.L. Freeman Holdings Ltd] as an employer".

Freeman company's lawyer, Tim McGinn, said he had instructions to file a challenge against the decision.

G.L. Freeman Holdings Ltd has an extensive history with the ERA. It was ordered to pay $8100 in a unjustified dismissal case in 1998, $400 in holiday pay and wages in a 2013 case and $1700 in holiday pay arrears in a case from April this year. A protracted dispute with another former receptionist over forfeited pay due to insufficient notice of resignation has resulted in four ERA judgements, all against G.L. Freeman Holdings Ltd. The company had applied for leave to appeal an Employment Court decision on the case.

*Clarification: An earlier version of this story published on Stuff.co.nz may have suggested that former Christchurch city councillor Gordon Freeman had been ordered by the Employment Relations Authority to pay staff sums of money owed to them. We wish to clarify that the authority did not make any orders against Mr Freeman. It ordered GL Freeman Holdings Ltd, of which Gordon Freeman is the director and shareholder (although he advises that the company is no longer trading), to pay some outstanding wages, holiday and sick pay, and a penalty. We apologise for any confusion.