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A commission has rejected that an employer's disciplinary process was reasonable, finding it took the "drastic" step of suspending a manager before adequately investigating the misconduct allegations against him.

This meant the employer couldn't establish a defence to the manager's psychological injury claim, NSW Personal Injury Commission Member Jane Peacock said.

The Commission heard the Imperial Tobacco Australia Limited territory sales manager was on his second day of a week's sick leave, for a respiratory illness, when the employer gave notice that it was suspending him with pay, and expected him to attend a disciplinary meeting the next day.

The employer's letter and an attached spreadsheet set out three categories of allegations: falsification or misrepresentation in his reporting; failures of honesty and accuracy when performing store duties; and inaccurate reporting of company time...