Energy giant E.ON has launched a new employee healthcare scheme, offering private medical cover to 4,000 managers and a healthcare cashplan to the remaining 16,000 staff.

The company, which is working with simplyhealth to provide the schemes, hopes to run them alongside its flexible benefits scheme aiming to give employees more control of their health and finances while lowering costs.

Simplyhealth won the E.ON contract after a competitive tender process.

Ant Donaldson, senior specialist, employee benefits at E.ON, said: "Traditionally, the private medical benefits scheme has been provided through an insured arrangement however, Simplyhealth, was instrumental in outlining the benefits of self funding through a healthcare trust arrangement. By opting to fund this benefit through a trust we have been able to maintain our employees' cover, whilst generating considerable cost savings."