diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index dbf5efdd59568306d4d4b576a9c00499153700a8..b853b8293b46dd2deea4c0d0cc6b225ed088ce61 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -83,14 +83,14 @@ check-ci-variables:
     - npm run update-ci-variables
   allow_failure: true # could be caused by changes in gitlab-org/gitlab repo, not related to current branch
   rules:
+    - <<: *if-scheduled-e2e
+      when: never
     - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH'
       when: always
     - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"'
       changes:
         - 'src/ci/ci_variables.json'
         - 'scripts/update_ci_variables.js'
-    - <<: *if-scheduled-e2e
-      when: never
 
 check-icons:
   stage: test
@@ -99,13 +99,13 @@ check-icons:
     - ./scripts/check_icons_are_up_to_date.sh
   allow_failure: true # can be caused by changes in https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/editor-extensions/gitlab-ide-icons
   rules:
+    - <<: *if-scheduled-e2e
+      when: never
     - if: '$CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH'
       when: always
     - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"'
       changes:
         - 'src/assets/icons/*'
-    - <<: *if-scheduled-e2e
-      when: never
 
 test-unit:
   stage: test