Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old widowed carpenter in Newcastle, is recovering from a heart attack. Despite his doctor's advice that he is not yet fit to return to work, the welfare system deems him capable of employment and denies him sickness benefits. Daniel is forced to seek job seeker's allowance, ensnaring him in bureaucratic red tape. As he navigates the complicated welfare system, he is confronted with the impersonal and often dehumanizing process of modern-day benefit claiming. With no experience in computers and online applications, Daniel's struggle is compounded by the technological barriers of the digital age.

During his visit to the job center, Daniel befriends Katie, a single mother of two who has been relocated from a homeless hostel in London to an apartment in Newcastle. She is also caught in the welfare maze, struggling to keep her family afloat. They form an unlikely friendship, bounding over their shared plight. Daniel becomes a grandfatherly figure to Katie's children and offers a helping hand with the house. Together, they deliver a poignant representation of solidarity and compassion amidst their personal hardships, highlighting the gaps and inefficiencies in the system that is meant to protect the most vulnerable in society.