diff --git a/planemo_ci_actions.sh b/planemo_ci_actions.sh
index 4588195..77e39f6 100755
--- a/planemo_ci_actions.sh
+++ b/planemo_ci_actions.sh
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ if [ "$MODE" == "test" ]; then
   # for tools undergoing short reviews (<1d) these will produce
   # problems with weekly checks that may be avoided by this
   rand=$(echo "$RANDOM * $RANDOM * $RANDOM / 1000" | bc -l | sed 's/\..*$//')
-  randdate=$(date -d "$rand" "+%Y%m%d %H:%M")
+  randdate=$(date -d "@$rand" "+%Y%m%d %H:%M")
   sudo date -s "$randdate"
 
   if [ "$WORKFLOWS" == "true" ] && [ "$SETUP_CVMFS" == "true" ]; then