diff --git a/federationapi/queue/destinationqueue.go b/federationapi/queue/destinationqueue.go
index 118e3df97..87a6fe559 100644
--- a/federationapi/queue/destinationqueue.go
+++ b/federationapi/queue/destinationqueue.go
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ func (oq *destinationQueue) checkNotificationsOnClose() {
 // backgroundSend is the worker goroutine for sending events.
 func (oq *destinationQueue) backgroundSend() {
 	// Don't try to send transactions if we are shutting down.
-	if oq.process.Context() != nil {
+	if oq.process.Context().Err() != nil {
 		return
 	}
 	// Check if a worker is already running, and if it isn't, then