Symptom
When changing personnel master data (for example manager, end date, working hours) for employees, the save is blocked with error "Cost center is locked for primary postings" (message KI260), although the change itself does not post costs.
Environment
SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition
Reproducing the Issue
- Open the personnel record of an employee who has a second employment contract due to a company code change and is assigned to a cost center locked for primary postings.
- Change organizational assignment data such as manager, end date, or working hours.
- Save the changes and observe error "Cost center is locked for primary postings" (KI260).
Cause
When a Cost Center is assigned to a Work Assignment, the Cost Center is expected to remain valid for the entire period that the Cost Center is assigned to the employee’s Work Assignment. If the Cost Center is blocked for posting during the period that it is assigned to the employee, the error will be triggered.
Resolution
- Identify the cost center assigned to the employee’s work assignment and the validity period of that assignment.
- In the Manage Cost Center app, ensure the "Actual primary costs" (primary postings) lock is not active during the period when the employee is assigned to this cost center (align cost center validity/lock status with the assignment period).
- Save cost center changes, then perform the required HR organizational assignment update.
- For other validity periods outside the employee’s assignment, keep or reapply the primary postings lock to prevent postings.
- If an immediate update is required and schedule alignment is not yet done, temporarily unlock the cost center for primary postings, complete the HR change, and relock it afterward.
See Also
Keywords
KI260, cost center locked for primary postings, organizational assignment, work assignment, hr master data change, second employment contract, company code change, validity period, manage cost center, primary postings lock, replication, save blocked, hr changes, cost center control, s/4hana cloud , KBA , CO-FIO-CCA-MD-2CL , Master Data (Public Cloud) , CA-WFD-INT , S/4HANA Cloud Workforce Domain Integration , Problem
SAP Knowledge Base Article - Public