diff --git a/upstart-jobs/nix-daemon.nix b/upstart-jobs/nix-daemon.nix
index 84bbdea4f11..d761bcd85a9 100644
--- a/upstart-jobs/nix-daemon.nix
+++ b/upstart-jobs/nix-daemon.nix
@@ -6,10 +6,8 @@
   job = "
     start on startup
     stop on shutdown
-    script
-      export NIX_CONF_DIR=/nix/etc/nix
-      exec ${nix}/bin/nix-worker --daemon > /dev/null 2>&1
-    end script
+    env NIX_CONF_DIR=/nix/etc/nix
+    respawn ${nix}/bin/nix-worker --daemon > /dev/null 2>&1
   ";
 
 }