Character to Servant. The master is under no legal obligation, either in England or in Scotland, to give a character to his servant, however long, faithfully, or efficiently he may have served him; but, if given, the character must be strictly true, or, at all events, in accordance with the master's belief, otherwise he may be exposed to an action of damages, either by the servant whom he has calumniated, or by a subsequent employer whom he has deceived. If true, however, the fact of its being prejudicial will expose the master to no risk. In order to justify the giving of a bad character, however, it must, in general, be asked for by the servant, as the master is not entitled needlessly to publish the servant's defects. Where asked, it will lie with the servant to prove its falsehood, not with the master to prove its truth. The case of the servant being known by the master to have committed a felony while in his service, is, however, an exception to this rule, as, in a case so extreme, the master is at liberty to warn others against taking him into their employment. Even though strictly true, the character, if prejudicial, must not be more so than the circumstances render necessary. Acts of petty dishonesty, such as are too common among servants, will not warrant the master in branding him as a thief. The safe course, in such a case, is to state the offence, and not to describe it by a general epithet, which may convey an erroneous impression of its magnitude.
It is probable that, partly from thoughtless good-nature, and partly from a selfish desire to get rid of a bad servant in the most comfortable manner, false characters are given in favour of servants very much more frequently than to their prejudice. It is desirable that masters and mistresses should have in view that they may render themselves liable in reparation of any damage which can be shown to be the direct result of thus inflicting on a stranger a wrong which is unquestionably within the reach of the law.
By an Act of 1816, personating a master, and thus giving a false character to a servant, or asserting in writing that a servant has been hired, contrary to truth; and any person offering himself as a servant, pretending to have served where he has not served, or producing a false certificate, or altering a certificate, or pretending not to have been in any former service, &c., are offences at common law, punishable on conviction before two justices with a fine of £20.