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 the problem affects only the Sage HR mobile app, use our article Employee can't log in to the Sage HR app.

If the employee can’t log in to the Sage HR website, follow 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 don’t receive a code when logging in, click Resend code at the bottom of the Verify your email address page.

Tell them to wait up to 10 minutes for the code to arrive.

If the code still doesn’t arrive, check their junk or spam folder and make sure their email security allows messages from [email protected].

Can't access email with the verification code

Without access to that email, they can’t log in yet. To fix this, change the email address or turn on 2FA so they can sign in using their phone.

2FA

Authentication code not working

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

If they've lost their recovery key, they'll need their 2FA reset.

No access to 2FA device

If they can’t access their authentication code from the app or by text, they can log in using their recovery key.

If they’ve lost the recovery key or no longer have access to their 2FA device, they need a 2FA reset.

Not receiving 2FA code

Ask them to wait up to 10 minutes for the code to arrive. Check that their phone has a signal and can receive texts or calls. If nothing arrives, click Resend code and wait for a new text or call.

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

If they've lost their recovery key, they'll 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 Sage HR web portal, 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 can’t log in to the Sage HR website, the browser could be the issue. Ask them to try a different browser, such as Chrome instead of Edge.

Works on another browser

If another browser works, clear the cookies and cache on the original browser. They can also keep using the browser that works.

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 could be trying to log in to a profile that doesn't exist anymore. For example, someone has terminated or deleted their profile.

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 still exists in your company, move on to the next check.

No

If they aren't in your company directory, they could 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 someone has terminated the employee, this is why they can't log in.

Sage HR - No payroll integration

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

Sage HR integrated with Sage 50 Payroll or Sage Payroll

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

No

If the employee doesn’t show in the Terminated employees report, you never added them or someone removed their profile. Right now, they’re not in your Sage HR company.

They can’t log in until you add them again.

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 login email must match the Work email in their profile.

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 - Have you disabled the employee's self-serve access?

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

Go to their profile.
On the Employee tab, scroll down to the bottom.
Click Personal settings.
Make sure there's a tick next to Self-service access enabled 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. It's possible that they haven't done this yet.

Resend the welcome email so they can create a Sage account.

If the email shows an option to create a Sage ID, they need to click it and set a password. They can then log in.

If the email doesn’t show an 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 workspace?

If the URL domain is wrong or they entered the wrong workspace, this can stop them from logging in. The workspace is the text shown just before .sage.hr in your company's Sage HR URL. Use that value in the Sage HR app.

For more details, use our article, Find my company's workspace.

Is the issue persisting?

If the employee still can’t log in after all the checks above, remove the employee and add them again.

⚠️CAUTION: Do this only after you complete every check. Removing the employee means you’ll need to set them up again from scratch.

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

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