diff --git a/oak-commons/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/oak/commons/PathUtils.java b/oak-commons/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/oak/commons/PathUtils.java
index d74bfd41e55..656cf34be19 100644
--- a/oak-commons/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/oak/commons/PathUtils.java
+++ b/oak-commons/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/oak/commons/PathUtils.java
@@ -317,8 +317,11 @@ public static String concat(String parentPath, String subPath) {
         } else if (isAbsolutePath(subPath)) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Cannot append absolute path " + subPath);
         }
-        String separator = denotesRootPath(parentPath) ? "" : "/";
-        return parentPath + separator + subPath;
+        if (denotesRootPath(parentPath)) {
+            return parentPath + subPath;
+        } else {
+            return parentPath + "/" + subPath;
+        }
     }
 
     /**