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Employee can't log in to the Sage HR web portal

Checks to make as an admin user if an employee isn't able to log in to the web portal to access their payslips, time off, documents etc.

Oliver Cook avatar
Written by Oliver Cook
Updated over 4 months ago

This guide is for admin users to troubleshoot why your employee is unable to log in to your Sage HR company.

📎NOTE: If you're the user that can't log in, use our alternative guide, I can't log in to the Sage HR web portal.

Is the employee trying to log in to the Sage HR mobile app?

If it's only the Sage HR mobile app they can't log in to, use our guide, Employee can't log in to the Sage HR app.

If they can't log in to the Sage HR web portal, continue with the troubleshooting steps below.

Is the login issue because of an email verification code or 2-factor authentication (2FA)?

Yes

Is the issue with their email verification code or 2FA?

📎NOTE: If they authenticate using the following methods, then they use 2FA:

  • Code provided by an authenticator app

  • Code sent by text

  • Code sent by phone call

If they log in using a code sent to their email address, they use email verification.

Email verification code

Not received my email verification code

If they haven't received the code when trying to log in, ask them to click Resend code at the bottom of the Verify your email address page.

Allow up to 10 minutes to receive this code.

If they still don't receive the code, ask them to check their junk/spam folder and ensure their email security doesn't block [email protected].

Can't access email with the verification code

If they don't have access to the email address that the code was sent to, they will need to wait log in until they do.

If you don't want to be reliant on access to that email address you can ask your employer to set you up for Sage HR under a different email address, or you can ask your employer to enable 2FA for you so you can authenticate using a mobile d

2FA

Authentication code not working

If their authentication code provided by their authenticator app, text or call isn't working, they can log in using their recovery code.

If they've lost their recovery code, they will need their 2FA reset.

No access to 2FA device

If they don't have access to receive their authentication code provided by their authenticator app, or by text they can log in using their recovery code.

If they've lost their recovery code, or they've permanently lost access to their 2FA device, they will need their 2FA reset.

Note receiving 2FA code

Allow up to 10 minutes for the code to arrive and ask the employee to check their phone signal to make sure they can receive text messages or calls. After waiting click Resend code and wait for another text or call.

If the issue persists they can log in using your recovery code.

If they've lost their recovery code, they will need their 2FA reset.

Something else

If you have a different login issue related to 2FA. Visit our 2FA collection in the Sage HR knowledgebase.

Ultimately, you can look into resetting 2FA for the employee so they can set up 2FA again from scratch.

No

Continue with the troubleshooting steps below.

Does the employee have one of the following login errors or issues?

If they don't have one of these specific errors or issues, follow the general troubleshooting steps below.

General troubleshooting - Why can't the employee log in?

When an employee is unable to log in to the web version of Sage HR, this can be because of the following reasons.

  • They need to clear their Internet browser's cookies and cache folder

  • An admin user has terminated or deleted their profile

  • The email address they're using doesn't match the one in their Sage HR profile

  • They haven't set up their access from their welcome email

  • They're entering an incorrect password

  • An admin user has disabled their access

  • They're logging in to the wrong portal, such as www.sagepayrollservices.co.uk instead of sage.hr/signin

To establish the cause of their issue, make the checks below.

1 - Can they log in on a different internet browser?

If they're trying to log in to the Sage HR website, their login issue could be caused by their Internet browser. Get them to try a different browser, for example, Chrome instead of Edge.

Works on another browser

If it works fine on another browser then the issue on their original browser may be resolved by clearing your browser's cookies and cache. Alternatively, they can use the other browser from now on.

📌TIP: On a phone, as long as the employee isn't terminated, they can also log in on the Sage HR mobile app.

Still can't log in

If they still can't log in on another browser, move on to the next check.

2 - Does the employee exist in Sage HR?

Your employee may be trying to log in to a profile that doesn't exist anymore. For example, they've been terminated or deleted.

Log in to Sage HR and check whether the employee is there. You can look for them in the company directory or search for them.

Is the employee there? Click your answer below:

Yes


If the employee does still exist in your company, move on to the next check.

No


If they aren't in your company directory, they may still exist in your Terminated employees report.

Go to Reports > Employee data > Terminated employees and check if the employee is on that list.

Are they on your Terminated employees report?

Yes

If the employee is terminated, this is why they can't log in.

Sage HR integrated with Sage 50 Payroll or Sage Payroll

If the employee was terminated accidentally, an Admin user can contact Sage HR support to re-hire them for you.

📎NOTE: Sage 50 Payroll UK only - If the employee is meant to be terminated, they can only log in via the Sage HR web portal for the time specified in your employee settings. Terminated employees can't log in on the mobile app.

Sage HR - No payroll integration

If the employee was terminated accidentally, you can undo this by clicking Re-Hire.

No

If the employee isn't in your Terminated employees report, this means your employee was never added, or has been deleted. Either way, they don't currently exist in your Sage HR company.

The employee can't log in until you add them.

Read more

3 - What email address is the employee using to log in?

Confirm with your employee what email address they're entering when they log in.

The email they're using must match what it says in their profile.

📌TIP: The employee may not be aware you used their other email address, or you haven't spotted a typo when you entered their email address when adding the employee to Sage HR.

If the employee is using a different email address let them know the correct email address to use.

Need to change this email address?

If the employee wants this to be a different email address, or it's incorrect, you can change it.

If the employee is using the correct email address, move on to the next check.

4 - Has the employee's self-serve access been disabled?

A reason why an employee can't log in is if their self-serve access has been disabled within their personal settings.

  1. Go to their profile.

  2. On the Employee tab scroll down to the bottom.

  3. Click Personal settings.

  4. Make sure Self-service access enabled is selected.
    ​
    ​


    If it's not selected, select it and click Save.

Check if they still can't log in.

If the employee still can't log in move on to the next check.

5 - Resend welcome email to employee

An employee can't log in until they set up their access from their welcome email.

The employee may not have done this yet, or their login needs to be set up again.

Resend them a welcome email.

If their welcome email gives them an option to create a Sage ID, they need to click that option and follow the instructions to create their password. They should then be able to log in using that new password.

If their welcome email has no option to create a Sage ID, move on to the next check.

6 - Ask the employee to reset their password

Once you've completed all the checks above, check whether they're entering the correct password. They can reset their password using the forgot password option.

📎NOTE: The email address must be correct for this step to work.

After they reset their password, see if they can now log in.

If they still can't log in with their new password, move on to the next check.

7 - Ask the employee to log in an alternative way

Request the employee to try to log in to Sage HR Online Services a different way.

📌TIP: If they're trying to log in to the Sage HR app, ask them to try the website version instead.

If they still can't log in after trying the above, move on to the next check.

8 - Has the employee entered the right company domain?

If the domain in their login page's URL is wrong, or they've entered the workspace when asked for it when logging into the Sage HR app, this can be why they can't log in.

Take note of what it says just before .sage.hr as this is what they need to enter as the workspace into the Sage HR app.

Issue still persisting?

If the employee still can't log in at this point we recommend you remove the employee and re-add them.

⚠️CAUTION: Only do this if you've made sure every check above has been done. This is because the following steps require you to have to set up the employee again

  1. Terminate employee.

  2. Delete employee.

  3. Re-add the employee:

  4. Ensure the employee sets up access from their new welcome email.

Queries this guide answers

  • Employee can't sign in

  • Employee is unable to log in

  • Employee is having trouble logging in

  • Employee can't access their payslips

  • Employee can't access their account

  • Employee login details not working

  • Employee login details not recognised

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