diff --git a/apps/app/src/app/(app)/[orgId]/people/all/actions/addEmployeeWithoutInvite.ts b/apps/app/src/app/(app)/[orgId]/people/all/actions/addEmployeeWithoutInvite.ts
index db45b5648..5ee3eae37 100644
--- a/apps/app/src/app/(app)/[orgId]/people/all/actions/addEmployeeWithoutInvite.ts
+++ b/apps/app/src/app/(app)/[orgId]/people/all/actions/addEmployeeWithoutInvite.ts
@@ -36,9 +36,12 @@ export const addEmployeeWithoutInvite = async ({
     }
 
     let userId = '';
-    const existingUser = await db.user.findUnique({
+    const existingUser = await db.user.findFirst({
       where: {
-        email,
+        email: {
+          equals: email,
+          mode: 'insensitive',
+        },
       },
     });
 
diff --git a/apps/app/src/app/(app)/[orgId]/people/all/components/InviteMembersModal.tsx b/apps/app/src/app/(app)/[orgId]/people/all/components/InviteMembersModal.tsx
index cca623854..b9a0b0108 100644
--- a/apps/app/src/app/(app)/[orgId]/people/all/components/InviteMembersModal.tsx
+++ b/apps/app/src/app/(app)/[orgId]/people/all/components/InviteMembersModal.tsx
@@ -164,13 +164,13 @@ export function InviteMembersModal({
             if (hasEmployeeRoleAndNoAdmin) {
               await addEmployeeWithoutInvite({
                 organizationId,
-                email: invite.email,
+                email: invite.email.toLowerCase(),
                 roles: invite.roles,
               });
             } else {
               // Use authClient to send the invitation
               await authClient.organization.inviteMember({
-                email: invite.email,
+                email: invite.email.toLowerCase(),
                 role: invite.roles.length === 1 ? invite.roles[0] : invite.roles,
               });
             }
@@ -325,12 +325,12 @@ export function InviteMembersModal({
               if (hasEmployeeRoleAndNoAdmin) {
                 await addEmployeeWithoutInvite({
                   organizationId,
-                  email,
+                  email: email.toLowerCase(),
                   roles: validRoles,
                 });
               } else {
                 await authClient.organization.inviteMember({
-                  email,
+                  email: email.toLowerCase(),
                   role: validRoles,
                 });
               }
diff --git a/apps/app/src/lib/db/employee.ts b/apps/app/src/lib/db/employee.ts
index 1fd2971b6..04fa786bb 100644
--- a/apps/app/src/lib/db/employee.ts
+++ b/apps/app/src/lib/db/employee.ts
@@ -25,8 +25,13 @@ export async function completeEmployeeCreation(params: {
   console.log(`Starting employee creation for ${email}`);
 
   // Check if the user already exists
-  const existingUser = await db.user.findUnique({
-    where: { email },
+  const existingUser = await db.user.findFirst({
+    where: {
+      email: {
+        equals: email,
+        mode: 'insensitive',
+      },
+    },
   });
 
   let employee: Member;
diff --git a/apps/portal/src/app/components/otp.tsx b/apps/portal/src/app/components/otp.tsx
index b1f08506c..e1989d676 100644
--- a/apps/portal/src/app/components/otp.tsx
+++ b/apps/portal/src/app/components/otp.tsx
@@ -45,9 +45,11 @@ export function OtpSignIn({ className }: Props) {
     if (error) {
       setLoading(false);
       toast.error(error.message);
+      setSent(false);
+    } else {
+      setSent(true);
     }
 
-    setSent(true);
     setLoading(false);
   }
 
diff --git a/apps/portal/src/app/lib/auth.ts b/apps/portal/src/app/lib/auth.ts
index 45b8fc073..1fec11bc8 100644
--- a/apps/portal/src/app/lib/auth.ts
+++ b/apps/portal/src/app/lib/auth.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ export const auth = betterAuth({
     emailOTP({
       otpLength: 6,
       expiresIn: 10 * 60,
+      // Prevent automatic user creation on OTP sign-in
+      disableSignUp: true,
       async sendVerificationOTP({ email, otp }) {
         await sendEmail({
           to: email,