diff --git a/include/linux/relay.h b/include/linux/relay.h
index ecbb34a382b898..68c1448e56bb38 100644
--- a/include/linux/relay.h
+++ b/include/linux/relay.h
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include <linux/timer.h>
 #include <linux/wait.h>
 #include <linux/list.h>
+#include <linux/irq_work.h>
 #include <linux/bug.h>
 #include <linux/fs.h>
 #include <linux/poll.h>
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ struct rchan_buf
 	size_t subbufs_consumed;	/* count of sub-buffers consumed */
 	struct rchan *chan;		/* associated channel */
 	wait_queue_head_t read_wait;	/* reader wait queue */
-	struct timer_list timer; 	/* reader wake-up timer */
+	struct irq_work wakeup_work;	/* reader wakeup */
 	struct dentry *dentry;		/* channel file dentry */
 	struct kref kref;		/* channel buffer refcount */
 	struct page **page_array;	/* array of current buffer pages */
diff --git a/init/Kconfig b/init/Kconfig
index d7fc226396652c..34407f15e6d34d 100644
--- a/init/Kconfig
+++ b/init/Kconfig
@@ -1288,6 +1288,7 @@ config SYSFS_DEPRECATED_V2
 
 config RELAY
 	bool "Kernel->user space relay support (formerly relayfs)"
+	select IRQ_WORK
 	help
 	  This option enables support for relay interface support in
 	  certain file systems (such as debugfs).
diff --git a/kernel/relay.c b/kernel/relay.c
index 9988f5cc2d4645..da79a109dbebc6 100644
--- a/kernel/relay.c
+++ b/kernel/relay.c
@@ -328,13 +328,15 @@ static struct rchan_callbacks default_channel_callbacks = {
 
 /**
  *	wakeup_readers - wake up readers waiting on a channel
- *	@data: contains the channel buffer
+ *	@work: contains the channel buffer
  *
- *	This is the timer function used to defer reader waking.
+ *	This is the function used to defer reader waking
  */
-static void wakeup_readers(unsigned long data)
+static void wakeup_readers(struct irq_work *work)
 {
-	struct rchan_buf *buf = (struct rchan_buf *)data;
+	struct rchan_buf *buf;
+
+	buf = container_of(work, struct rchan_buf, wakeup_work);
 	wake_up_interruptible(&buf->read_wait);
 }
 
@@ -352,9 +354,10 @@ static void __relay_reset(struct rchan_buf *buf, unsigned int init)
 	if (init) {
 		init_waitqueue_head(&buf->read_wait);
 		kref_init(&buf->kref);
-		setup_timer(&buf->timer, wakeup_readers, (unsigned long)buf);
-	} else
-		del_timer_sync(&buf->timer);
+		init_irq_work(&buf->wakeup_work, wakeup_readers);
+	} else {
+		irq_work_sync(&buf->wakeup_work);
+	}
 
 	buf->subbufs_produced = 0;
 	buf->subbufs_consumed = 0;
@@ -487,7 +490,7 @@ static struct rchan_buf *relay_open_buf(struct rchan *chan, unsigned int cpu)
 static void relay_close_buf(struct rchan_buf *buf)
 {
 	buf->finalized = 1;
-	del_timer_sync(&buf->timer);
+	irq_work_sync(&buf->wakeup_work);
 	buf->chan->cb->remove_buf_file(buf->dentry);
 	kref_put(&buf->kref, relay_remove_buf);
 }
@@ -754,14 +757,15 @@ size_t relay_switch_subbuf(struct rchan_buf *buf, size_t length)
 			buf->early_bytes += buf->chan->subbuf_size -
 					    buf->padding[old_subbuf];
 		smp_mb();
-		if (waitqueue_active(&buf->read_wait))
+		if (waitqueue_active(&buf->read_wait)) {
 			/*
 			 * Calling wake_up_interruptible() from here
 			 * will deadlock if we happen to be logging
 			 * from the scheduler (trying to re-grab
 			 * rq->lock), so defer it.
 			 */
-			mod_timer(&buf->timer, jiffies + 1);
+			irq_work_queue(&buf->wakeup_work);
+		}
 	}
 
 	old = buf->data;