diff --git a/app/email_queue/resources/service/email_queue.php b/app/email_queue/resources/service/email_queue.php
index c84165d64a..75df0d8b93 100644
--- a/app/email_queue/resources/service/email_queue.php
+++ b/app/email_queue/resources/service/email_queue.php
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@
 	}
 
 //remove the old pid file
-	if (file_exists($file)) {
+	if (file_exists($pid_file)) {
 		unlink($pid_file);
 	}