Time for licenced Engineers?

Incidentally, responding to an earlier point made by Mehmood, I should point out that indemnity insurance is purely a matter of terms and conditions of contract, hence should not be covered by such a sweeping statement - it has to be taken on a case by case basis, and depends on where the control sits.  I, and most other freelance contractors, do carry indemnity and public liability insurance, and that is an expense I have to pick up myself as part of the cost of operating in this manner.  The fact that this responsibility passes to the employer when you are an employee is simply a matter of employment law, and is a purely commercial issue.  Although I suspect that most employees sit with a perception of being bomb-proof in this respect because they are not themselves involved in arranging or paying for these insurances,  I can guarantee that any employer that had to make a claim on their indemnity insurance as a result of negligence or incompetence on the part of an employee would, at the very least, address that competence if they recognised that they had failed in their employer's duty to provide and maintain the employee with suitable competence for the role, or if they felt that they had provided that competence and it was pure negligence, that employee would not remain an employee for much longer, and would have their chance of reemployment elsewhere significantly reduced. However, without a doubt it is among the reasons that some organisations do have a preference for hiring freelance contractors for specialised roles, as it does afford that enhanced degree of protection. It all depends on the degree of control and where that control sits.  My contract is clear in placing control of when, where and how in my hands.  If the hirer is far more controlling, there is a definite potential for that control to prevent even the most competent engineer from implementing the rightly assured engineering decisions, in which case it is only right that the responsibility transfers to the controlling organisation.

Incidentally, responding to an earlier point made by Mehmood, I should point out that indemnity insurance is purely a matter of terms and conditions of contract, hence should not be covered by such a sweeping statement - it has to be taken on a case by case basis, and depends on where the control sits.  I, and most other freelance contractors, do carry indemnity and public liability insurance, and that is an expense I have to pick up myself as part of the cost of operating in this manner.  The fact that this responsibility passes to the employer when you are an employee is simply a matter of employment law, and is a purely commercial issue.  Although I suspect that most employees sit with a perception of being bomb-proof in this respect because they are not themselves involved in arranging or paying for these insurances,  I can guarantee that any employer that had to make a claim on their indemnity insurance as a result of negligence or incompetence on the part of an employee would, at the very least, address that competence if they recognised that they had failed in their employer's duty to provide and maintain the employee with suitable competence for the role, or if they felt that they had provided that competence and it was pure negligence, that employee would not remain an employee for much longer, and would have their chance of reemployment elsewhere significantly reduced. However, without a doubt it is among the reasons that some organisations do have a preference for hiring freelance contractors for specialised roles, as it does afford that enhanced degree of protection. It all depends on the degree of control and where that control sits.  My contract is clear in placing control of when, where and how in my hands.  If the hirer is far more controlling, there is a definite potential for that control to prevent even the most competent engineer from implementing the rightly assured engineering decisions, in which case it is only right that the responsibility transfers to the controlling organisation.