80% of salary whilst furloughed and still working

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

was listening to someone on the radio yesterday saying that he was being furloughed and asking if it would be legal for him to work for a different company whilst being furloughed. The employment lawyer on the programme said it would be fine.

So does this mean that someone could work for a shop that has had to temporarily close, get 80% of that salary, and then go and work at , for example, Tesco full time and get a salary from there as well? If so surely that's wrong.

Or have I misunderstood?

No you can't work at all when furloughed, for the company who furloughed you or any other. Wetherspoons have furloughed their staff and said if they want to not be furloughed but to work for Tesco's etc then he'll give them first refusal on jobs when they open because they cannot afford to pay furloughed people until they receive pay from the government. We employ just over 100 staff and have currently furloughed about half with more being added daily as sites stop running. We have had to make it clear to them that they can't work elsewhere or for us.