diff --git a/sys/event/timeout_ztimer.c b/sys/event/timeout_ztimer.c
index 84fd34d9b3..12d37e326f 100644
--- a/sys/event/timeout_ztimer.c
+++ b/sys/event/timeout_ztimer.c
@@ -38,7 +38,11 @@ void event_timeout_ztimer_init(event_timeout_t *event_timeout, ztimer_clock_t *c
 
 void event_timeout_set(event_timeout_t *event_timeout, uint32_t timeout)
 {
-    ztimer_set(event_timeout->clock, &event_timeout->timer, timeout);
+    if (timeout == 0) {
+        event_post(event_timeout->queue, event_timeout->event);
+    } else {
+        ztimer_set(event_timeout->clock, &event_timeout->timer, timeout);
+    }
 }
 
 void event_timeout_clear(event_timeout_t *event_timeout)