diff --git a/lib/plugins/usermanager/admin.php b/lib/plugins/usermanager/admin.php
index b7ee032159cab6538158926baf73a6b598f38fee..8d241571b99cb7696bd6f1e8e5029811cdeab1c6 100644
--- a/lib/plugins/usermanager/admin.php
+++ b/lib/plugins/usermanager/admin.php
@@ -103,7 +103,8 @@ class admin_plugin_usermanager extends DokuWiki_Admin_Plugin {
         }
 
         if ($cmd != "search") {
-          $this->_start = $_REQUEST['start'];
+		  if (!empty($_REQUEST['start']))
+	        $this->_start = $_REQUEST['start'];
           $this->_filter = $this->_retrieveFilter();
         }