diff --git a/src/envVariables.js b/src/envVariables.js
index 2e111a3a8..ea6875187 100644
--- a/src/envVariables.js
+++ b/src/envVariables.js
@@ -229,7 +229,8 @@ let enviromentVariables = {
 	},
 	GENERIC_INVITATION_EMAIL_TEMPLATE_CODE: {
 		message: 'Required generic invitation email template code',
-		optional: false,
+		optional: true,
+		default: 'generic_invite',
 	},
 }
 
diff --git a/src/routes/index.js b/src/routes/index.js
index 1125debf5..6e6928d31 100644
--- a/src/routes/index.js
+++ b/src/routes/index.js
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ module.exports = (app) => {
 
 	// Global error handling middleware, should be present in last in the stack of a middleware's
 	app.use((error, req, res, next) => {
-		if (error.statusCode || error.responseCode || error.message) {
+		if (error.statusCode || error.responseCode) {
 			// Detailed error response
 			const status = error.statusCode || 500
 			const responseCode = error.responseCode || 'SERVER_ERROR'