Solution Properties
Solution ID:
220810082739103
Last Modified Date:
Fri Jul 03 09:32:45 UTC 2026
Taxonomy Path:
Case category//I have a problem with...//processing
Author:
[email protected]
Error: 'This email address is already in use' - Sage HR Online Services
Description

When you upload online payslips, sometimes the following error appears:

'This email address is already in use' followed by the email address in question.

The common cause for this is when an employee using online services leaves, then comes back to work for you.

When you try to upload payslips to the same email address using their new employee record, the issue occurs.

NOTE:

These steps are for Sage HR Online Services. If you use Sage Online Bureau, follow the separate Online Bureau article.

Cause
Resolution

The easiest way to resolve this it to ▼ use a different email address for their new record in Sage 50 Payroll.

To use a different email address, follow the steps below:

  1. Double-click the employee on your employee list to open their record.
  2. Go to the Analysis tab.
  3. Enter the new email address in the Email address field under the Online Services heading.
  4. Select Save then Close.

You can now upload payslips as normal. Because you've used a different email address this time, there's no longer a duplicate email address, so the error doesn't occur.

NOTE:

Make your employee aware that they must use this email address and not their previous email address to log in to Sage HR Online Services.

If you need to use the original email address, continue to follow the next section.

Use the original email address

To re-use a returning leaver's original email address for online services, you need to address the duplication that's causing this error.

To do this, follow the steps below to enable online services with the original email address in their old employee record.

This ensures that your software can correctly detect the email address duplication, and guide you through resolving it.

TIP:

If the employee has left and come back more than once, apply the following steps in all of their old employee records.

Enable online services

  1. In Sage 50 Payroll, go to Employee.
  2. Double-click to open the employee record.
  3. In the employee record, select the Analysis tab. Under Online Services, check the original email address is there.
  4. Next to Enable Online Services, select the checkbox.
  5. Select Save.
  6. Try again to upload their payslip for the current period.

You should now see the message 'we've encountered a problem'. This means your software has located all instances of the duplicate email address, and makes it easy to replace the existing employee data.

For help with the next steps for this message, follow the error: 'We've encountered a problem' - Sage HR Online Services article.

Issue still occurs

If the same error 'this email address is already in use' still appears, or the original record is missing, contact Sage technical support.

 

Steps to duplicate
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