diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/listener/ExecutionContextPromotionListener.java b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/listener/ExecutionContextPromotionListener.java
index e0bd22ec5..b5e322d91 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/listener/ExecutionContextPromotionListener.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/batch/core/listener/ExecutionContextPromotionListener.java
@@ -54,11 +54,12 @@ public class ExecutionContextPromotionListener extends StepExecutionListenerSupp
 			if (PatternMatcher.match(statusPattern, exitCode)) {
 				for (String key : keys) {
 					if (stepContext.containsKey(key)) {
+						jobContext.put(key, stepContext.get(key));
+					} else {
 						if (strict) {
 							throw new IllegalArgumentException("The key [" + key
 									+ "] was not found in the Step's ExecutionContext.");
-						}
-						jobContext.put(key, stepContext.get(key));
+						}						
 					}
 				}
 				break;
diff --git a/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/listener/ExecutionContextPromotionListenerTests.java b/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/listener/ExecutionContextPromotionListenerTests.java
index 9b92ba69e..cf76e5b1d 100644
--- a/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/listener/ExecutionContextPromotionListenerTests.java
+++ b/spring-batch-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/batch/core/listener/ExecutionContextPromotionListenerTests.java
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ public class ExecutionContextPromotionListenerTests {
 	@Test
 	public void promoteEntryStatusFound() throws Exception {
 		ExecutionContextPromotionListener listener = new ExecutionContextPromotionListener();
+		listener.setStrict(true);
 
 		JobExecution jobExecution = new JobExecution(1L);
 		StepExecution stepExecution = jobExecution.createStepExecution("step1");