They have NEVER said you cannot go to work.
If you life in Wales (this chap does) the current law is
stay at home. Don't go to work unless it's essential work (government list) and only go out once a day locally for food or exercise. Work from home if you can or if not you're furloughed, laid off if PAYE or just twiddling your thumbs if self employed. This chap was staying at home so presumably, he's not doing essential work, he can't work from home as he now thinks he's got to go in hence his post and he can't be laid off or he wouldn't have a job to go back to. Unless he's got a new job but he can't work from home as he needs to go to work in England.
This chaps job is located in England he lives in Wales, since today there're 2 different laws in operation. Currently living in Wales he can't leave his house unless his work is essential, it can't be as was staying home, now saying under Boris new plan for England he needs to go to work, so he must have been staying at home furloughed, or if self employed living off savings as I don't believe they get any money until June.
Common sense doesn't come into to it if you're living in Wales he can't go out, except for the above, which by definition he doesn't qualify or he'd not be asking the question.
but most shut voluntarily.
No, unless you were on the essential work list e.g. NHS, Police, Fire, gas fitters, maintenance/repair, supermarket worker, delivery driver, postman etc or couldn't work from home, you was shut down. That changed only
today after Boris announcement on Sunday.
The change in message on Sunday was to try to make people realise that HMG do not have a bottomless bucket of money to pay for all the lazy sods who could work SAFELY but chose to sit at home instead claiming their 80%
Really, I don't think so, or if it is the government is lying again. So everybody who's been furloughed is really just a lazy sod................Hmmm interesting. I'm not furloughed and have been working, my Mrs has been, are you saying my Mrs is a lazy sod and everybody else who's been furloughed?