Overview

This article helps you resolve Missing Permissions issues in Merge when SAP SuccessFactors returns “Invalid property names” errors on EmpJob, using employeeTypeNav as the example.

What you’ll see

• A Merge Issue showing a permissions error tied to a failed log that uses an $expand on EmpJob

• SAP's response returns 400 with messages like: [COE0021] Invalid property names: EmpJob/employeeTypeNav

  • For other fields, you'll see variants like EmpJob/employmentTypeNav, EmpJob/positionNav , and more.

Example response surfaced in logs:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "COE_PROPERTY_NOT_FOUND",
    "message": {
      "lang": "en-US",
      "value": "[COE0021]Invalid property names: EmpJob/employeeTypeNav. Please check the property name in Admin Center > OData API Data Dictionary or entity metadata. Ensure there were no data model changes that removed this field, and please execute a refresh metadata to ensure the cache is not corrupted."
    }
  }
}

Why this happens

If the corresponding field for employeeTypeNav is disabled or not configured, the navigation property will not appear in the OData API Data Dictionary and will not be accessible via API. Even after fixing the configuration, SAP’s metadata cache may need a refresh to take effect.

Impact

When Merge encounters a 400 “Invalid property names” from /EmpJob, we

• Remove the exact expand that caused the failure

• Surface a Missing Permissions issue in your dashboard

• Continue the rest of the sync so other data still flows

Syncs will still continue as normal. Depending on the specific property name that is invalid, there may be data that Merge is not able to sync.

Resolution steps

Step 1: Confirm whether the property exists in SAP

• In SAP Admin Center, search for and enter OData API Data Dictionary

• Search for EmpJob

• Filter the Property Name column to employeeTypeNav

  

  • If present, proceed to Step 3

  

  • If missing, go to Step 2

Step 2: Enable and correctly configure "employee-type" in Business Configuration

• In Admin Center, search for Manage Business Configuration

• Enter jobInfo

  • In the row for employee-type, check the Enabled column

• Open Take Action in the upper right, click Make Correction

• Set Enabled to Yes

• Click Details for employee-type and ensure it’s configured as a Picklist

Step 3: Refresh SAP OData metadata cache

• In Admin Center, search for OData API Metadata Refresh and Export

• Click Refresh next to Cache

• When clicking on Refresh, the message Refresh Successful! will be displayed after metadata gets refreshed.

• If the error persists, try refreshing again after a few minutes. In rare cases, cache desynchronization may require multiple refreshes or SAP Support assistance.

Step 4: Verify

After updating configuration and refreshing metadata:

• Using API Tester, send an small API call from Merge -> Third party that expands the previously failing property. Here's a URL example:

  • /odata/v2/EmpJob?$top=1&$select=userId&$expand=employeeTypeNav

• If the request succeeds, Merge can now access employeeTypeNav in subsequent syncs!

Why this works

These steps resolve most Missing Permissions issues of this type because:

• The OData entity may be missing the navigation property entirely.

• The underlying field (employee-type) may be disabled in Business Configuration.

• The SAP instance’s API metadata may be outdated and still returning old schema information

FAQs

• I don’t have an EmpJob/employeeTypeNav error. I see EmpJob/employmentTypeNav or another EmpJob/<field>. Do the same steps apply?

  • Yes! Follow the same steps but search for the corresponding property in OData API Data Dictionary and the matching field under jobInfo in Manage Business Configuration.

• We refreshed metadata but the error still shows occasionally. Why?

  • SAP notes that cache can become outdated or corrupted due to data center conditions. If a refresh doesn’t take effect immediately, try again after a short interval. If the problem persists despite correct configuration, contact Merge Support for additional guidance. Your customer may need to open an SAP ticket for cache issues.

• What if we doesn’t use employee-type or the expanded field at all?

  • If your use case does not depend on data from employeeTypeNav (or the specific expanded field), Merge will continue syncing other data. You can safely ignore the warning.

Additional SAP resources

These SAP Knowledge Base articles provide additional details and cover related edge cases:

• SAP KBA 3291073: Error: EmpJob/employmentTypeNav missing

• SAP KBA 3146917: Troubleshooting Invalid Property Name Issues

  • Includes additional causes and troubleshooting steps

If the issue persists

If the employeeTypeNav property is enabled and metadata refreshed but the error continues:

• Re-review the steps above and SAP knowledge base articles above for additional root causes.

• Confirm the user has access permissions for the EmpJob entity and related picklists.

• Reach out to Merge Support for further analysis, there may be additional entity-level or instance-specific configuration differences.