Can an employer give a bad reference if I was made Redundant?

My situation is pretty complicated but please help if you can....
six months ago there was a situation in the store I was working where stock went missing. 2 members of staff were fired and I was made redundant.
Accusations were never made but I never I was under suspicion. I tried to appeal there decision but was told that the redundancy was genuine as my position no longer existed. I demanded that my boss put this is writing and received a letter stating that due to economical events the company was "downsizing" I received a redundancy settlement.
Since then I have received a job offer that heavily relies on references from my last employer and am waiting to see what happens.
Is it possible that they could give me a bad reference and if so what can i do about this? Also as I have it in writing the reason for my redundancy could my last employer give any other reasons for letting me go?

I guess they can say what they want in a reference.

From what i have seen people rearly get slated in a reference its more a case of whats not said. The obvious things if not included stand out i.e. i'd be concerned if a refernce didn't make reference to you as being reliable, honest, trustworthy, good with people etc etc etc.

If your employer did not accuse you of anything there will be nothing on your record. They cannot refer to something that does not exist and indeed they would be in legal hot water for doing so. (I presume there was no disciplinary or anything like that). Most employers these days only confirm that the employee worked there and don't tend to give detailed references.

Redundancy is a fact of life - it happens.

any employer foolish enough to give a bad reference is open to litigation ......

If they give you a bad reference they open themselves to libel/slander and unfair redundancy.

References are an important issue for employers and employees:

Employers should consider their legal obligations towards an employee/ex employee and to the recipient of the reference. Employees should ensure that an employer provides a true, accurate and fair summary of employment. The various rights and obligations are detailed below.

Does an employee have a right to a reference:

An employer is not obliged to provide a reference except where:

• the employee's contract of employment states that he/she is entitled to a reference
• the employer risks victimising the employee by not giving a reference (see Victimisation)

It is sometimes said that the employer has a moral obligation to provide a reference. Indeed, it is rare to refuse to provide a reference, given the consequences for the employee.

What should an emplouer provide:

Employers do not have to give a full and comprehensive reference. Given the potential liabilities involved, it is common for employers to give only a short statement confirming that the individual was employed, the dates of the employment and the employee's job title.
An employer may be asked to provide such a reference either in writing or over the phone. It is often more advisable to provide a reference in writing to reduce the scope for misinterpretation of what has been said.
When providing a more detailed statement than suggested above, consider including:

• length and dates of service
• positions held and key responsibilities
• performance
• punctuality and periods of absence (see Data Protection below)
• integrity
• relevant personal information
• reasons for leaving

I hope that helps

Thanks guys for your responses....
There was an internal investigation and I was interviewed then suspended for 2 days then made redundant. I agreed to the police being involved and wanting to take a lie detector test just so we could find out who really took the items or if it was a company set up to get rid of unwanted staff.I guess I was in the unfortunate position of working on the day it happened.

Anyway they asked for my resignation and I refused, they threatened to fire me and I told them to try. Then they said the would make me redundant just so I could claim benefits lol. In the redundancy meeting whilst having a witness I asked if the redundancy had anything to do with the "apparent" missing items from the store. They replied NO NOTHING AT ALL. They sent me a letter which states YOUR REDUNDANCY HAS NO REFLECTION ON YOUR PERFORMANCE OR ABILITY AND IS DUE TO ECONOMIC DOWN SIZING.

By refusing to give me a reference then surely it make the redundancy fake? or make them look as if they are being unreasonable.

The company never involved the police ... but we all agreed to a police investigation

As long as what they say is true (and can prove it is true) well then they can say whatever they want.

They can also refuse to provide a reference.