The new agents welcomed to the board are Elisha Treserden, Paul Wells and Sally O’Hara who will take up tenure for two years, helping to represent the interests of more than 160 self-employed workers across the group. They join existing members Linda Reynolds, Carol Novelli and Dave Russo, who are currently midway through their terms.

Sally O’Hara was selected to the board following the decision this year to include newer members of staff to bring fresh eyes on the business. Having joined The PTAs last year, O’Hara has worked in travel for 36 years.

Commenting on her appointment, she said: “I’m really looking forward to my involvement with the homeworker board. It will be a great opportunity to put forward some ideas from a newbie and I’m very proud to be the first newer PTA on the board.”

Other new board members Elisha Treserden and Paul Wells bring a wealth of experience, having run their Personal Travel Agent businesses in partnership with Your Co-op for eight and nine years respectively.

“Having served on the homeworker board on a couple of occasions previously, I felt that now was the right time to reapply,” said Wells. “Given the situation over the last couple of years, I felt my experience and propensity to drive change would serve the group’s members well, as we strive to rebuild consumer confidence, promote business growth and capitalise on the importance of the role of a personal travel agent.”

The board meets with The Personal Travel Agents’ senior management team four times a year to discuss new ideas, share best practices and to sanction key decisions within the homeworking business.

“We highly value the work and input the board makes to business decision making,” said PTA head Sheena Whittle. “It’s more important than ever as we emerge from the pandemic to have our homeworkers firmly at the heart of everything we do.”