diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/util/WorkflowUtil.java b/core/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/util/WorkflowUtil.java
index 123b455919b8..10f61f28a7db 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/util/WorkflowUtil.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/fao/geonet/util/WorkflowUtil.java
@@ -1,29 +1,25 @@
-//=============================================================================
-//===
-//=== ThreadUtils
-//===
-//=============================================================================
-//===	Copyright (C) 2001-2007 Food and Agriculture Organization of the
-//===	United Nations (FAO-UN), United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
-//===	and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
-//===
-//===	This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
-//===	it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-//===	the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
-//===	your option) any later version.
-//===
-//===	This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
-//===	WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-//===	MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
-//===	General Public License for more details.
-//===
-//===	You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-//===	along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
-//===	Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA
-//===
-//===	Contact: Jeroen Ticheler - FAO - Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 2,
-//===	Rome - Italy. email: geonetwork@osgeo.org
-//=============================================================================
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2001-2023 Food and Agriculture Organization of the
+ * United Nations (FAO-UN), United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
+ * and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at
+ * your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA
+ *
+ * Contact: Jeroen Ticheler - FAO - Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 2,
+ * Rome - Italy. email: geonetwork@osgeo.org
+ */
 
 package org.fao.geonet.util;
 
@@ -37,8 +33,12 @@
 
 public class WorkflowUtil {
 
+    private WorkflowUtil() {
+
+    }
+
     /**
-     * Checks if a group has the workflow enabled.
+     * Checks if the workflow is enabled and a group has the workflow enabled.
      *
      * @param groupName Group name
      * @return
@@ -46,6 +46,9 @@ public class WorkflowUtil {
     public static boolean isGroupWithEnabledWorkflow(String groupName) {
         SettingManager settingManager = ApplicationContextHolder.get().getBean(SettingManager.class);
 
+        boolean isWorkflowEnabled = settingManager.getValueAsBool(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_ENABLE);
+        if (!isWorkflowEnabled) return false;
+
         String groupMatchingRegex = settingManager.getValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_DRAFT_WHEN_IN_GROUP);
 
         if (!StringUtils.isEmpty(groupMatchingRegex)) {
@@ -56,7 +59,4 @@ public static boolean isGroupWithEnabledWorkflow(String groupName) {
             return false;
         }
     }
-
-
-
 }
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/fao/geonet/util/WorkflowUtilTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/fao/geonet/util/WorkflowUtilTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..8e45936e4866
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/fao/geonet/util/WorkflowUtilTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package org.fao.geonet.util;
+
+import org.fao.geonet.AbstractCoreIntegrationTest;
+import org.fao.geonet.kernel.setting.SettingManager;
+import org.fao.geonet.kernel.setting.Settings;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+
+public class WorkflowUtilTest extends AbstractCoreIntegrationTest {
+    @Autowired
+    SettingManager settingManager;
+
+    @Test
+    public void testWorkflowDisabled() {
+        settingManager.setValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_ENABLE, false);
+        assertEquals(false, WorkflowUtil.isGroupWithEnabledWorkflow("sample"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testWorkflowEnabledAllGroups() {
+        settingManager.setValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_ENABLE, true);
+        settingManager.setValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_DRAFT_WHEN_IN_GROUP, ".*");
+        assertEquals(true, WorkflowUtil.isGroupWithEnabledWorkflow("sample"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testWorkflowEnabledInGroupList() {
+        settingManager.setValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_ENABLE, true);
+        settingManager.setValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_DRAFT_WHEN_IN_GROUP, "sample|test");
+        assertEquals(true, WorkflowUtil.isGroupWithEnabledWorkflow("sample"));
+
+        settingManager.setValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_DRAFT_WHEN_IN_GROUP, "sam*|test");
+        assertEquals(true, WorkflowUtil.isGroupWithEnabledWorkflow("sample"));
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testWorkflowEnabledNotInGroupList() {
+        settingManager.setValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_ENABLE, true);
+        settingManager.setValue(Settings.METADATA_WORKFLOW_DRAFT_WHEN_IN_GROUP, "test");
+        assertEquals(false, WorkflowUtil.isGroupWithEnabledWorkflow("sample"));
+    }
+}