Description

When queuing mail using:

Mail::to($user)->later($delay, new ExampleMail());

the delay is correctly applied at the queue driver level and the job is executed at the expected time.

However, the delay value is not set on the SendQueuedMailable job instance itself.

Because of this:

• The delay is respected by the queue system.
• But the delay is not present in the serialized job payload.
• Queue observers (e.g., Horizon) cannot detect that the job is delayed.
• The job appears as a normal pending job instead of a delayed one.

This creates an inconsistency with:

dispatch(new ExampleJob())->delay($delay);

where the delay is stored on the job instance and included in the payload metadata.

Root Cause

Mailable::later() currently forwards the delay directly to the queue driver via:

$queue->connection($connection)->laterOn(
    $queueName ?: null, $delay, $this->newQueuedJob()
);

The delay is applied at the driver level but never set on the SendQueuedMailable instance, which uses the Queueable trait.

Proposed Fix

Set the delay on the queued job instance, aligning behavior with dispatch()->delay().